Thornton Fastest Overall in SuperSport Qualifying

By Henny Ray Abrams | 3/11/2011 5:55 AM

DAYTONA BEACH, FL, MARCH 11 - The SuperSport set showed their youth and inexperience by causing two red flags on a chilly morning in qualifying at Daytona International Speedway.Four minutes into the 40 minute session the session was stopped for the first time with a turn one spill. The second stoppage came with about nine minutes to go, at which point the session was called official.The cold not only brought out the worst in the SuperSport riders, but it also suppressed lap times. Oklahoman Dustin Dominguez was on top when the session ended, but he was only third fastest overall.Pole went to Run 1 Racing's Miles Thornton (Yam), whose 1:54.888 mins. Thursday lap time stood up as the best. Thornton was the only rider in the 1:54's and that speed kept him on top.Hayden Gillim will start second on the grid on the strength of his Thursday time. Gillim lapped the 3.51-mile circuit in 1:55.295 mins.Dominguez finished third fastest overall at 1:55.308 mins. on his House of Kawasaki 848EVO. Dominguez is here on a shoestring budget with a skeleton crew."We maxed out my dad's credit cards coming here," he said. "I've got to go back to work and pay them off."Stefano Mesa filled out the front row on his Ducati.

Abrams is the longest-serving contributor at Cycle News. Over the course of his 35-some years of writing and shooting photos, he’s covered events from MotoGP to the Motocross World Championship - and everything in between.